I'm another anti Magicshine person. I owned their 1000 lumen light and it died in the first 60 days of it's 90 day warranty, I sent back in and that was the last I ever saw the light or heard from them. Then a friend of mine had their newer 1200 lumen light and it died after just a year and half. And MS overrates their lumens because my Cygolite Mitycross 480 (480 lumens) was brighter then the 1200 Lumen MS my friend had! If you want a cheap bright light then get this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CREE-XML-XM-...item3ccb681fd2 At least for $38 or so you're not out much if it goes south!

I happen to love my Phillips Saferide which is brighter then my Cygolite Mitycross 480. The Phillips is my main light and the Cygolite is my helmet light. The Phillips puts all the light energy where it counts-on the road not in the tops of trees like other lights. See this: http://reviews.mtbr.com/2012-bike-li...pattern-photos Look at the light patterns on the grass and on the fence behind the swing set. The Phillips does the best job of lighting up the grass and the fence of any light under $500. The Phillips does not have a separate battery pack to fool with either, will run for 2 hours on high then switch automatically to low for another 3 hours, or you run it for 8 hours on low. It also has a very good side lighting that lights up the lane next to you, in addition a glowing ring that combined makes you really visible from the side.

I also agree on having dual lights, in case one dies on a ride you have the other.